St Patrick's Day
by crazystrings
Summary: A band from Bristol in Milwaukee with Ashley as the baby-sitter/record producer's daughter. Interesting stuff is bound to happen!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So if you've read Picture Perfect you know I said I was taking a break but St. Patty's day inspired me slightly. This story will probably only be a couple chapters but the idea of the craziness of my home town during this festive day inspired a story idea. Hope you enjoy!**

Ashley woke up to her business and personal cell phones ringing at three in the morning. Luckily, or unluckily she wasn't yet sure, she had only stumbled into bed about a half hour ago so she wasn't in a deep sleep yet. She looked at the caller id on both phones and they both read Raif Davies.

"What do you want Dad? It's way too early for a crisis."

"Well good morning to you too honey." He replied with a laugh. "You better get ready though."

"Get ready?" Ashley said slightly panicked and looked at the time on her personal cell phone. "It's three in the fucking morning. Clover doesn't play til two in the afternoon."

"That's true but there's been a change of plans." Raif said cautiously. He could tell Ashley's temper was rising.

"What change of plans?" Ashley asked slowly trying to keep her temper in check.

Raif took a deep breath and said, "The kids in the band had such a good time with you they want to spend the day with you. Starting with breakfast at Moe's downtown at six am."

"Are you kidding me? We were out til two am this morning. Don't these people sleep?" Ashley yelled into the phone.

"I know hun. But they want to experience the whole crazy St. Patty's Day celebration here in Milwaukee which means Moe's downtown at six, Moe's in West Allis at eight then wherever til they perform at two. And after that party all night."

"I'm too old for this." Ashley replied as she made her way to the bathroom.

Raif laughed and said, "No you're not. And just think you aren't paying for a single drink and Aiden is driving you guys around in a limo all day."

"You think I ever pay for drinks when I go out Dad?" Ashley replied with a laugh then continued, "Couldn't Glen do it? Aiden kinda creeps me out." She whined as she turned on her shower.

"No! I don't trust Glen around bars, he'll be more concerned with hot girls than getting you where you need to be." Raif said knowingly.

Ashley just laughed, "Not worried about me doing that?" "Ash, you're in charge so you can just bring whatever women you want along." Raif replied also laughing.

"So how much time do I have to feel human, Dad?"

"Well it should only take you about fifteen minutes from your house to get to The Iron Horse Hotel and about five minutes to get to Moe's so Aiden will pick you up a little after five." Raif informed her.

"So why couldn't you let me sleep for another hour or so?" Ashley asked getting a bit annoyed again.

"I want you to be at your best Ash."

"Right so you're sending me out to drink with the band, again." Ashley interrupted.

"I really want to sign these kids and get them in the studio." he replied as if it were obvious, completely ignoring Ashley's comment.

Ashley sighed and replied, "I know Dad but another hour of sleep would have helped."

"You're the best Ash." Raif said encouragingly.

"I know I am."

"See ya at the show sweetie." and with that he hung up the phone.

Ashley shook her head with a laugh and put the phone on the counter. She loved her Dad but sometimes he drove her nuts.

About six months ago Raif decided he was tired of living in LA so he decided to move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and expand his record label to the city. Not really thought of as a mecca of up and coming music but they did host the worlds biggest music festival, Summerfest, so that was something. Plus the city had festivals every weekend during the summer. Raif moved, convincing Ashley to come along, in August. Summer was drawing to a close and the winters were no joke. Although the natives considered these past few months a mild winter, Ashley still thought it was a nightmare. Driving during a snowstorm was not a pleasant experience and seven inches of snow was seven too many in her opinion. But she was hopeful the worst was behind them weather wise. It had been in the 60's and 70's the last week so she finally shed her winter coat.

On the agenda today was more face time with a band from England called Clover. As a good will gesture her Dad flew them out here and got them a gig at an Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day. Ashley figured the people in Milwaukee wouldn't care that the kids were from Bristol, England not Ireland. The kids were actually twenty three year old friends who had met in college in Bristol and they were very talented so Ashley hoped they would sign with her Dad's label. But more importantly she hoped she would make it through the day.

"Ashleykins, how are you feeling love?"

Ashley put on her best smile and said, "Wonderful Cook. How about you?"

Cook gave her a big goofy grin and said, "Had me a bit of spliff so I'm ready to conquer this city."

"He hasn't been able to stop talking about green beer. They will have it at Moe's right?" Effy joined in the conversation.

Ashley laughed, "Yes, they'll have plenty of green Miller Lite on tap."

"I'll tolerate the cold piss water just cause it's green. That's hilarious." Cook said with a laugh.

"Just remember you do have a show at two," Ashley warned.

"He plays better when he's fucked up, don't worry." Emily chimed in.

Ashley smiled and nodded as she looked around the limo, she wanted to make sure they were all here. Effy, Cook, Emily, Naomi, and Freddy. The band was all here but there were two people missing, "Where are JJ and Panda?"

"They'll be along later." Freddy informed her. "They wanted to sleep in a bit."

"Alright." Ashley answered, instantly jealous of the bands manager and tech guy that they get to sleep. She turned to Aiden and said, "Let's get going."

All Ashley could think was thank god they had breakfast. She needed something to give her energy and the pint of green beer Cook had put in front of her was not helping. Most of the band on the other hand seemed more energized than the previous night. They were drinking pints of green Miller Lite and chatting up anyone in the bar that would talk to them. Ashley was perfectly content to sit at her table and watch all the soon to be drunken craziness. Even on a normal weekend night Moe's was normally not this packed so the entertainment was soon to begin.

By two o'clock it seemed like most of the people celebrating in Milwaukee were drunk. There were people walking all around Water Street, many more than the last few years since St. Patty's Day fell on a Saturday this year. The festive crowd was being loud and obnoxious. Cook was right at home in all the insanity. Although the group had made an appearance at Moe's in West Allis, they all voted that Water Street was much more entertaining so after about a half an hour they returned to their original destination.

Clover's performance was wildly popular. The band was spot on and had the people in the bar eating out of their hand. Ashley hoped once the performance was done she could escape the party for a while and catch a few more hours of sleep.

"Dad, can you baby-sit them for a bit?" Ashley asked as nicely as she could muster.

"I've gotta get the contracts ready honey. I talked with Panda a few minutes ago and she said the band is ready to sign." Raif said almost apologetically.

"Are you serious?" Ashley whined. "I don't know how much more of this I can take Dad."

"Look hun, they're leaving tomorrow. Can't you just last one more night?" He pleaded with his daughter. "I'll give you a week off after today."

Ashley sighed and replied, "Two weeks and you have a deal."

"Alright, two weeks." Raif gave in. He smiled broadly at his daughter then said, "I've gotta get to the lawyers, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Wait no, you call me when you're ready to talk to me."

Ashley rolled her eyes as her Dad kissed her and walked out of the bar. Amazingly she found a seat at the end of the bar and immediately claimed it.

A few seconds later someone said, "What can I get you?"

Ashley looked up and smiled immediately at the beautiful blond behind the bar. "I'll have MGD, tap."

"No green beer?" the bartender said with a smile.

"I've had enough green beer already. I'll drink what I like from now on." Ashley replied.

"Be back in a sec." the blond said then went off to pour her beer.

"Ashleykins, where are we going next?" Cook said putting his arm around her.

Honestly Ashley now had found a reason to stay at Moe's so she replied, "What this place isn't good enough?"

The bartender returned with her beer. "This one's on me." She said with a smile then walked away.

"Well I see you've found a reason to stay." Cook said with a big smile. "How about we find out when she gets off of work and we bring her along wherever else we go?"

Ashley laughed and said, "Cook if you guys want to go somewhere else, just give me a few minutes. I'll finish my beer then we can go wherever you want."

Cook smiled and said, "I'll go check with the gang while you chat up the hot blond."

When Cook had left Ashley was surprised when she turned and saw the blond was in front of her again. "So you get to baby-sit the British band?"

"Yeah, my Dad wants to sign them so I get to entertain them." Ashley replied. "And lucky me, they like me."

The bartender nodded and said, "They're pretty good. I can imagine they're fairly marketable as well."

"Hopefully." Ashley agreed then looked the bartender in the eye. "I didn't catch your name?"

"I'm Spencer." the bartender said holding out her hand. "And I'm off at two thirty if you were interested. I know he seemed to be interested." She finished nodding over to Cook.

"I'm Ashley, nice to meet you Spencer." Ashley said with a smile. "What are you doing after you finish here?"

"No plans really, what did you have in mind?" Spencer said with a grin.

"Well I've got a band to baby-sit and a limo at my disposal. Interested in tagging along?"

"Hmmm, well maybe. But let me get back to you." She said then quickly added before walking away. "But you're much more my type than Cook over there. That okay with you? I already like what I've seen, not surprising they like you." Spencer didn't wait for a response before heading over to help another customer.

Even if the bartender had wanted an answer, or response of any sort, Ashley was too surprised by Spencer's blatant honesty to speak or move.


	2. Chapter 2

They didn't manage to get everyone in one place until after three. Apparently Cook found a group of girls who were completely enamored by him, and most likely completely drunk too. But Effy eventually extracted him from his admirers.

"So what's our plan now kiddies?" Cook said enthusiastically.

Ashley laughed then said, "Well Cook, you're the one who wanted to get out of here about an hour ago."

"Right, almost forgot. But I don't know much about this city, I'll need suggestions. So where's the next party?" Cook replied.

"Well we could just walk around Water Street and see what's going on. That's what I do sometimes if I'm not closing." Spencer spoke up.

Cook's smile got bigger, if that was even possible. "Good to hear you're joining us love. I say we do what she suggests." Cook said looking at his band mates.

"Works for me." Naomi said. "This place has grown a bit stale. No offense Spencer."

Spencer laughed and said, "No worries, I just work here. I don't hang out here when I'm not working so no offense taken."

Ashley decided to assert herself back into the conversation, "Well then we've got a plan. I'll call Aiden and tell him his break is going to be a bit longer."

For the next three hours they bounced from bar to bar. The band seemed to be having a blast hanging out with the random drunken people celebrating the holiday. And of course Cook was still thoroughly amused by the green beer, he was consuming cups of it at an alarming rate. But it was beginning to feel like a very long day to Ashley.

Since the whole group was actually together Ashley used this opportunity to make a suggestion, "So do you guys think we can take a break from the bar hopping to get a bite to eat?"

"Stellar idea Ashleykins. Where do you suggest?" Cook said draping his arm around Ashley's shoulders.

"There's a Buffalo Wild Wings over there. Definitely good drinking food." Spencer suggested.

"What do they serve?" Emily asked.

"Chicken wings, burgers, assorted fried foods, that sort of thing." Ashley replied hoping the band would agree. She could definitely go for a Honey BBQ bacon burger and some wedges with cheese.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Freddie spoke up. "I could use some food to soak up all the alcohol we've had today."

They walked the few blocks to the restaurant and spent a couple hours eating dinner and drinking a bit more.

"Excellent break, great suggestion Spencer." Cook said with a smile. "So where are we off to next? More importantly where would you go if you were going out Spencer?"

"Well I usually go down to second street." Spencer said. She looked around the table to see if anyone was interested then she remembered she was with a group of people that didn't know the city very well so she added, "It's where most of the gay and lesbian bars are in Milwaukee."

Cook laughed and said, "Brilliant. I'm sure Naomi and Ems will appreciate that, so let's go."

"If everyone agrees I'll call Aiden." Ashley chimed in. "It's a little further from here than we would want to walk." She looked around the table and everyone was nodding in agreement so she made the call.

Aiden had to drop them off a few blocks away because there were so many people out and about.

Effy laughed and said, "It amazes me how many bars there are in this city. It's like there is one on every corner."

Ashley smiled, "Nearly. Between Milwaukee and West Allis you can find any type of bar you want. And if you're not picky there is usually one within walking distance of wherever you're staying."

"Is there one close to your house Ashleykins?" Cook asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"There are a few close but I wouldn't walk unless I had no other option." Ashley replied.

As they all got out of the car Effy asked, "So where are we heading?"

"Depends on what kind of mood you're in. If you want to dance we can go to LaCage or MONAS. The Pint is a bit smaller but still a fun place to go." Spencer informed the group.

"Let's hit them all." Cook replied festively as they began walking.

They spent the rest of the night bar hopping up and down second street. By the time two am hit, everyone was drunk and mostly ready for bed.

As they got into the limo Cook said, "Why don't you ladies stay with us tonight. We can order room service in the morning. That way you can be there when we sign our deal Ashleykins."

"That's fine, I just need a bed." Ashley slurred, it had been a long couple of days. So long in fact that she fell asleep after replying to Cook.

Ashley woke up the next morning and panicked slightly. She didn't recognize her surroundings and didn't remember how she got into the bed she was laying in at the moment. She felt her waist and realized she was still clothed so that, at least, was reassuring. She sat up too quickly and her head began to spin. "Ugh!" She blurted out as she fell back down on the bed.

"Long night hey?"

"What the?" Ashley turned and saw she was not in bed alone.

"I figured you'd wake up surprised. How are you feeling Ash?" Spencer said with a smile.

"Like I was run over by a truck, or maybe seven." Ashley replied with a laugh. "After two nights of drinking with these guys, I need to sleep for at least a day before I start to feel human again I think."

Spencer laughed and got out of bed. "Well I've got to get going. I'm supposed to meet my brother in a couple hours to help him look at houses."

"Oh," Ashley said feeling slightly disappointed. She wasn't sure where she thought this would go but she hoped there would be more to it than waking up next to Spencer then having her bail.

"But when you feel human again give me a call, or text, whichever you prefer. I put my number in your phone." Spencer smiled, pointed at the bed side table, then headed out the door.

Ashley looked at the table and saw her phone. She immediately grabbed it and looked under the S's for Spencer's number. And just as the beautiful blond said, her number was there. She looked at the entry, Spencer Carlin with a home and a cell phone number. The part that made Ashley smile most was under the nickname and it said, "Your potential girlfriend."


End file.
